Wisconsin Baby Dies of Measles in State's First Death in 36 Years

(Bloomberg) — Wisconsin on Thursday reported its first measles death in more than three decades, the latest state to suffer fatalities from a virus long eradicated in the U.S. but recently surging amid a wave of anti-vaccination sentiment.

The death occurred in an infant, the Wisconsin Department of Health said in a statement. It is the third measles-related death in the U.S. in the past week — equal to the number of deaths for the entire year of 2025. In the previous 25 years, the United States has typically had no deaths.

Measles is on the rise across the United States as vaccination rates decline. This has disrupted herd immunity, which protects people who cannot be vaccinated, such as infants and the immunocompromised. At least 45 states have reported infections in a total of 4,852 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The highly contagious virus is spreading in southwestern Wisconsin, and nine people have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak, according to the health department.

“Any death of a child is a tragedy, and even more so when it’s related to a vaccine-preventable disease,” Wisconsin Health Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement.

With the number of measles cases in the U.S. at its highest level in decades, its long-standing status as a measles-elimination nation is in jeopardy. An outside panel of experts is scheduled to meet next week to examine the data to determine whether transmission of the disease has continued in the U.S. for more than 12 months.

This week, Pennsylvania confirmed its sixth measles death and New York reported its first. Utah, South Carolina and Texas have also seen particularly bad measles outbreaks over the past year.

Wisconsin said local health care providers and public health personnel have delivered more than 42,000 doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine since August. No vaccine is perfect, but MMR is 97% effective after two doses.

One to three people in 1,000 are likely to die from measles, according to the CDC. A respiratory infection can cause flu-like symptoms and a distinct red rash all over the body. Complications include brain swelling, pneumonia, and death.

The CDC has confirmed only four deaths this year. After Pennsylvania reported its first victims, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, may have fabricated them for political gain — sparking a verbal spat. CDC is working on a national definition of measles deaths with an outside group of epidemiologists.

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